BACKGROUND
[0001] Modern computing devices typically include a display and one or more antennas to
enable wireless communication. Laptops, notebooks, and mobile devices with similar
form factors may typically have one or a small number of antennas located in the bezel
of the display housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002]
FIG. 1 illustrates a display in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate simplified cross-sections of pixels in displays in accordance
with certain embodiments.
FIG. 3A illustrates a set of exemplary pixels with integrated wireless communication
system components in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIG. 3B illustrates a cross-section of the exemplary pixels of FIG. 4A taken along
the line A-A' in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIGs. 4A-4D illustrate example antenna activation configurations in accordance with
certain embodiments.
FIG. 5 illustrates a computing system to select an antenna array configuration in
accordance with certain embodiments.
FIG. 6 illustrates a system comprising a display with an integrated wireless communication
system in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIG. 7 illustrates a flow for offloading processing of a video stream to a display
in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing device in which technologies described herein
may be implemented in accordance with certain embodiments.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary processor core that can execute instructions
as part of implementing technologies described herein in accordance with certain embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0003] Computing systems may include multiple antennas arranged in various locations on
the computing system to realize a desired throughput. In some instances, these antennas
are placed outside of the display surface, but such antennas may take up quite a bit
of space and volume around the display surface, thus causing a designer to face a
tradeoff between antenna performance and design aesthetics (e.g., form factor thickness
or form factor bezel size).
[0004] A computing system may also include other components (e.g., a Wi-Fi module, memory,
and a processor on a system-on-chip (SoC) coupled to the display) that perform media
playback functions, such as streaming, decoding, and processing media communicated
wirelessly to the computing system. Such components may be high performance components
or other components that are not optimized for media playback and may use excessive
power when performing media playback functions. Some existing systems utilize casting
media playback solutions (e.g., GOOGLE CHROMECASTâ„¢) to offload media playback operations
from the SoC to a media dongle, however, such a model requires development of an ecosystem
of applications that are compatible with the casting solution.
[0005] FIG. 1 illustrates a display 100 in accordance with certain embodiments. The display
100 comprises a housing 110, a bezel 120, and a display surface 126. The size of the
display elements responsible for generating light in a display pixel or allowing for
the transmission of light through each pixel continues to shrink over time. Even at
higher resolutions used in existing consumer electronics displays (e.g., 1920 x 1080
(Full HD), 3840 x 2160 (4K HD)), the display elements may take up only a portion of
the area of a pixel. If the black matrix area of a display (the area of the front
side of the display substrate not occupied by display elements) has enough unused
space, additional elements, such as antennas or other communication system components,
can be incorporated into individual pixels. Moving antennas from the display bezel
to the display area may enable a reduced bezel width and allow for many antennas to
be incorporated into a display.
[0006] Micro-displays result in significant per-pixel available real estate, dependent on
the size of the display elements and the overall resolution of the display. Just as
display elements may be deposited onto a display backplane through a variety of micro-transfer
processes, a number of antennas may be deposited onto the pixels to create an antenna
array within the display. Similarly, other wireless communication or media playback
components may be integrated into the display to enable offloading of media playback
from a processor (e.g., in the SoC 180) to the display.
[0007] The integration of wireless communication and/or media playback components into the
display may provide one or more of various advantages. In various embodiments, the
media playback power consumption may be reduced significantly compared to media playback
performed by an SoC coupled to the display, the throughput of the system may be improved,
system radio frequency (RF) interference may be reduced, specific absorption rate
(SAR) may be reduced, thinner bezel designs may be enabled, and/or cost may be reduced
(e.g., by omission of multiple discrete system antennas and cables).
[0008] Display 100 can be any type of display in which the display elements responsible
for generating light or allowing for the transmission of light are located at each
pixel. Such displays include, e.g., TFT LCD (thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display),
micro-LED (micro-light emitting diode), OLED (organic LED), and QLED (quantum dot
LED) displays. The housing 110 of the display 100 comprises the bezel 120, which borders
the display surface 126. Display 100 comprises a display substrate (not shown in FIG.
1) on which a plurality of pixels (also not shown) are located. The pixels define
a display area 182 within which images, videos, and other content can be displayed.
In display 100, the pixels extend to interior edges 184 of the bezel 120. The display
area 182 thus extends from one interior bezel edge 184 to the opposite bezel edge
184 in both the horizontal and vertical directions.
[0009] Display 100 includes various communication system and media playback components within
the display area 182. In the embodiment depicted, display 100 includes an antenna
array comprising a plurality of antennas 130, radio circuitry 132, wireless communication
controller 134, memory 136, media processing components 138, display driver 140, and
interface 142. Each of these components may be described in more detail herein (e.g.,
in connection with FIG. 6).
[0010] The interface 142 is electrically coupled to a chip 180 (e.g., an SoC) that is external
to the display. The chip 180 may comprise one or more processors. The display 100
is shown as a stand-alone display and as such the interface 142 may be in wired or
wireless communication with one or more central processor units (CPUs), graphic processing
units (GPUs), or systems-on-a-chip (SOCs) located in a laptop, tablet, smart phone,
desktop, workstation or other computing device. In other embodiments, the display
100 is integrated into a mobile device such as a smartphone, tablet, watch, mobile
gaming system, AR/VR headset, laptop computer, etc. and the interface 142 is in communication
with one or more processors incorporated within the mobile device. In still other
embodiments, the display 100 can be an embedded display such as in an in-vehicle infotainment
(IVI) system, a kiosk, or in any other of a wide variety of consumer or commercial
electronic devices, such as television sets, commercial display installations (trade
shows, stadiums, shopping malls, etc.), and navigation systems.
[0011] FIGS. 2A-2B illustrate simplified cross-sections of pixels in displays in accordance
with certain embodiments. A pixel may be a minute area of illumination on a display
screen, one of many from which an image is composed. In other words, pixels may be
small discrete elements that together constitute an image as on a display. These primarily
square or rectangular-shaped units may be the smallest item of information in an image.
Pixels are normally arranged in a two-dimensional (2D) matrix, and are represented
using dots, squares, rectangles, or other shapes. Pixels may be the basic building
blocks of a display or digital image and with geometric coordinates.
[0012] FIG. 2A is a simplified illustration of the cross-section of a pixel in a micro-LED
display. A micro-LED display may utilize a type of emissive display technology that
uses a matrix of individually-switched self-illuminating inorganic diodes that can
be controlled and lit without a master backlight. Conventional LEDs are typically
of a size on the order of hundreds of microns. In contrast, micro-LEDs may have, e.g.,
a size on the order of tens of microns or less. Micro-LED pixel 200 comprises a display
substrate 210, a red LED 220, a green LED 221, a blue LED 222, electrodes 230-232,
and a transparent display medium 240. The LEDs 220-222 are the individual light-producing
elements for the pixel 200, with the amount of light produced by each LED 220-222
being controlled by the associated electrode 230-232.
[0013] The LED stacks (red LED stack (layers 220 and 230), green LED stack (layers 221 and
231) and blue LED stack (layers 222 and 232)) can be manufactured on a substrate using
microelectronic manufacturing technologies. The display substrates described herein
may comprise any suitable materials. For example, the substrate may be a glass substrate,
a silicon substrate, or other suitable substrate. In some embodiments, the display
substrate 210 is a substrate different from the substrate upon which the LEDs stacks
are manufactured and the LED stacks are transferred from the manufacturing substrate
to the display substrate 210. In other embodiments, the LED stacks are grown directly
on the display substrate 210. In both embodiments, multiple pixels can be located
on a single display substrate. In some embodiments, display manufacture comprises
manufacturing individual display substrate portions to which pixels are attached and
assembling the display substrate portions together to achieve a desired display size.
In various embodiments, the interconnections connecting the various components to
each other (e.g., the antennas 130 to the radio circuitry 132 or other connections
described or illustrated herein) can be fabricated on or as part of the display substrate,
attached to the display substrate, or physically coupled to the display substrate
in any other manner.
[0014] The pixel 200 has a pixel width 244, which can depend on, for example, display resolution
and display size. For example, for a given display resolution, the pixel width 244
can increase with display size. For a given display size, the pixel width 244 can
decrease with increased resolution. The pixel 200 has an unused pixel area 248, which
is part of the black matrix area of a display. In some displays, the combination of
LED size, display size, and display resolution can be such that the unused pixel area
248 can be large enough to accommodate the integration of components, such as antennas
or other wireless communication components or media playback components, within the
pixels.
[0015] FIG. 2B is a simplified illustration of the cross-section of a pixel in an exemplary
OLED display. OLED pixel 250 comprises a display substrate 255, organic light-emitting
layers 260-262, which are capable of producing red (layer 260), green (layer 261)
and blue (layer 262) light, respectively. The OLED pixel 250 further comprises cathode
layers 265-267, electron injection layers 270-272, electron transport layers 275-277,
anode layers 280-282, hole injections layers 285-287, hole transport layers 290-292,
and a transparent display medium 294. The OLED pixel 250 generates light through application
of a voltage across the cathode layers 265-267 and anode layers 280-282, which results
in the injection of electrons and holes into electron injection layers 270-272 and
hole injection layers 284-286, respectively. The injected electrons and holes traverse
the electron transport layers 275-277 and hole transport layers 290-292, respectively,
and electron-hole pairs recombine in the organic light-emitting layers 260-262 to
generate light.
[0016] Similar to the LED stacks in micro-LED displays, OLED stacks (red OLED stack (layers
265, 270, 275, 260, 290, 285, 280), green OLED stack (layers 266, 271, 276, 261, 291,
286, 281), and blue OLED stack (layers 267, 272, 277, 262, 292, 286, 282), can be
manufactured on a substrate separate from the display substrate 255. In some embodiments,
the display substrate 255 is a substrate different from the substrate upon which the
OLED stacks are transferred from the manufacturing substrate to the display substrate
255. In other embodiments, the OLED stacks are directly grown on the display substrate
255. In both types of embodiments, multiple display substrate components may need
to be assembled in order to achieve a desired display size. The transparent display
mediums 240 and 294 can be any transparent medium such as glass, plastic, or a film.
In some embodiments, the transparent display medium can comprise a touchscreen.
[0017] Again, similar to the micro-LED pixel 200, the OLED pixel 250 has a pixel width 296
that can depend on factors such as display resolution and display size. The OLED pixel
250 has an unused pixel area 298 and in some displays, the combination of OLED stack
widths, display size, and display resolution can be such that the unused pixel area
298 is large enough to accommodate the integration of components, such as antennas
or other wireless communication components or media playback components, within the
pixels.
[0018] As used herein, the term "display substrate" can refer to any substrate used in a
display and upon which pixel display elements are manufactured or placed. For example,
the display substrate can be a backplane manufactured separately from the pixel display
elements (e.g., micro-LED/OLEDs in pixels 200 and 250) and upon which pixel display
elements are attached, or a substrate upon which pixel display elements are manufactured.
[0019] FIG. 3A illustrates a set of exemplary pixels with integrated wireless communication
system components in accordance with certain embodiments. Pixels 301-308 each have
a red display element 311, green display element 312, and blue display element 313,
which can be, for example, micro-LEDs or OLEDs. In other embodiments, the pixels may
have other display elements (e.g., a yellow display element). Each of the pixels 301-308
occupy a pixel area. For example, the pixel 305 occupies pixel area 315. The amount
of pixel area occupied by the display elements 311-313 in each pixel leaves enough
remaining black matrix space for the inclusion of wireless communication or media
playback components.
[0020] In various embodiments, a component may be located in the unused space of one or
more pixels. For example, pixels 302 and 306 contain an antenna 330 (which may have
any one or more characteristics of antennas 130) located alongside the display elements
311-313 (and between display elements of adjacent pixels such as 302 and 303 or 206
and 307. As another example, pixels 303 and 307 include component 340 and pixels 304
and 308 include component 342. For example, component 340 or 342 may include all or
a portion of radio circuitry 132, wireless communication controller 134, memory 136,
media processing components 138, display driver 140, interface 142, or other suitable
wireless communication or media playback component. In one example, component 340
and 342 may be portions of the same wireless communication or media playback component.
Thus, any one of radio circuitry 132, wireless communication controller 134, memory
136, video processing components 138, display driver 140, or interface 142 may include
multiple discrete sections (each located in one or multiple adjacent pixels) that
are communicatively coupled together.
[0021] In alternative embodiments, one or more of radio circuitry 132, wireless communication
controller 134, memory 136, video processing components 138, display driver 140, or
interface 142 (or portions thereof) may be located on the back side of the display
substrate, and thus would not be constrained by unused pixel area or display element
size and could be placed anywhere on the back side of a display substrate. A component
may straddle any number of pixels. In yet other embodiments, one or more of radio
circuitry 132, wireless communication controller 134, memory 136, video processing
components 138, display driver 140, or interface 142 (or portions thereof) may be
located on the display but outside of the display area 182 or entirely off of the
display (e.g., in a chip coupled to the display).
[0022] FIG. 3B illustrates a cross-section of the exemplary pixels of FIG. 3A taken along
the line A-A' in accordance with certain embodiments. Cross-section 350 illustrates
the cross-section of pixels 301-304. Red display elements 312 and corresponding electrodes
316 for the pixels 301-304 are located on display substrate 360. The pixels 301-304
are covered by transparent display medium 370.
[0023] In some embodiments, the antennas or other components used in the technologies described
herein can be discrete antennas or components that are manufactured or fabricated
independently from the pixel display elements and are transferred from a manufacturing
substrate or otherwise attached to a display substrate. In other embodiments, the
antennas or other components can be fabricated directly on the display substrate.
Although the antenna 330 and other components 340, 342 are shown as being located
on the surface of the display substrate 360 in FIG. 3B, in embodiments where the antennas
330 or other components 340, 342 are fabricated on a display substrate, they can reside
at least partially within the display substrate or on the substrate with one of more
intervening layers between the substrate and the components.
[0024] As used herein, the term "located on" in reference to any components with respect
to the display substrate refers to components that are physically coupled to the display
substrate in any manner (e.g., discrete components that are directly attached to the
substrate, discrete components that are attached to the substrate via one or more
intervening layers, components that have been fabricated on the display substrate).
As used herein, the term "located on" in reference to LEDs with respect to the display
substrate similarly refers to LEDs that are physically coupled to the display substrate
in any manner (e.g., discrete LEDs that are directly attached to the substrate, discrete
LEDs that are attached to the substrate via one or more intervening layers, LEDs that
have been fabricated on the display substrate).
[0025] FIGs. 4A-4D illustrate example antenna activation configurations in accordance with
certain embodiments. Each configuration depicts an array of antennas 130 integrated
on a display 400 (which may have any of the characteristics of display 100). In various
embodiments, the array of antennas 130 may be configurable such that different pluralities
of antennas 130 are activated in different configurations (e.g., based on desired
operational characteristics). In FIGs. 4A-4D, the antennas that are activated are
depicted in black while the deactivated antennas are depicted in white.
[0026] In the configuration of FIG. 4A, all of the antennas 130 of the array are activated.
Such a configuration may be selected, e.g., when maximum throughput is desired. In
the configuration of FIG. 4B, the activated antennas form a T shape. Such a configuration
may be selected, for example, when the display is being used in a portrait mode with
two hands contacting the display on the sides with the deactivated antennas. In the
configuration of FIG. 4C, the top row of antennas are activated while all of the other
antennas are deactivated. Such a configuration may be selected, for example, when
a user is actively interacting with the display in order to reduce SAR. In the configuration
of FIG. 4D, the top row is again activated while all of the other antennas are deactivated,
but in this configuration the display 400 is placed in a landscape orientation. Again,
such a configuration may be selected, for example, when a user is actively interacting
with the display in a landscape mode in order to reduce SAR
[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates a computing system 500 to select an antenna array configuration
in accordance with certain embodiments. While a few examples of antenna array configurations
and selection criteria are described above in connection with FIGs. 4A-4D, this disclosure
contemplates any suitable configurations based on any suitable selection criteria.
[0028] Computing system 500 includes a display 506 (which may have any of the characteristics
of display 100) and an SoC 510 comprising various modules. In the embodiment depicted,
display 506 comprises a touchscreen 512, antenna array 514 (which may comprise a plurality
of antennas 130), and antenna activation circuitry 516. The SoC 510 includes a configuration
selection module 518 which may utilize information from various other modules to select
an antenna configuration. For example, the modules supplying information for the antenna
configuration selection may include touch detection and location module 520, orientation
detection module 522, proximity detection module 524, communication management module
526, power management module 528, and thermal management module 530. In alternative
embodiments, one or more of the modules 518 or sensors utilized by the modules 518
may be integrated within display 506 or located on another suitable device.
[0029] The touch detection and location module 520 may determine that the surface of the
display has been touched and the location of the touch on the display. Module 520
may utilize data from touch sensors of touchscreen 512 in its determinations. The
orientation detection module 522 may detect an orientation of the display 506 (e.g.,
portrait mode, landscape mode, or other orientation). Module 522 may utilize data
from orientation sensors, such as one or more accelerometers. Proximity detection
module 524 may detect a proximity of a user to the display 506. Module 524 may utilize
data from one or more proximity sensors, such as an SAR sensor. Communication management
module 526 may determine a strength of a signal (e.g., from a Wi-Fi access point).
The power management module 528 may detect a battery level and/or determine an amount
of power used by the display 506. The thermal management module 530 may determine
whether a location, region, or the display 506 as a whole exhibit overheating. Any
of the modules may include or be coupled to any suitable sensors to collect the data
utilized by the module. In various embodiments, any one or more of these sensors may
be located on the display substrate of display 506 or external to the display (e.g.,
on SoC 510).
[0030] Configuration selection module 518 may determine, based on any suitable information
from the other modules, which configuration of a plurality of possible configurations
should be selected for the antenna array 514. In some embodiments, the selection may
be made from every possible antenna configuration by making a determination for each
antenna of the array as to whether the antenna should be activated or deactivated.
In other embodiments, the selection may be made from a limited number of available
configurations (e.g., the four configurations depicted in FIGs. 4A-4B). The configuration
selection module 518 may communicate the selected configuration to antenna activation
circuitry 516 which may then activate the antennas specified by the configuration.
[0031] The antenna activation circuitry 516 may use any suitable circuitry to activate one
or more particular antennas. For example, if a particular antenna is to be activated,
switching circuitry coupling that antenna to other communication circuitry (e.g.,
radio circuitry 132) that may power the antenna is activated. In some embodiments,
each antenna may be selectively activated independently of the other antennas (and
thus the antenna activation circuitry 516 may be able to activate any permutation
of the antennas of the array 514). In other embodiments, antennas may be configurable
in sets, such that particular antennas must be activated or deactivated in a group.
While this may sacrifice flexibility, it would decrease the amount of control circuitry.
[0032] Thus, the active antennas of the antenna array 514 may be configured in any suitable
manner based on any suitable characteristic, such as one or a combination of channel
traffic/bandwidth demand, wireless signal strength, channel availability access point
location/proximity, human body presence detection, measurements from a SAR sensor,
a usage mode of the display (e.g., tablet mode vs. laptop mode, portrait mode vs.
landscape mode, etc.), detected touches (e.g., antennas proximate detected touchpoints
may be turned off), detected interference from circuitry located on the display (changing
location of active antennas may reduce the interference between circuitry elements
of display 506), power consumption rate, battery charge level, thermal behavior of
the display, or other suitable characteristic.
[0033] FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a set of modules that can be included in a computing
system or device. In other embodiments, a computing system or device can have more
or fewer modules than those shown in FIG. 5. Moreover, separate modules can be combined
into a single module, and a single module can be split into multiple modules.
[0034] The computing system 500 can further comprise one or more computer-readable media
that stores instructions to cause the modules of FIG. 5 to carry out their functionalities.
These computer-readable media can be located in display 506 and/or external to the
display 506 (e.g., in SoC 510). Any of the modules shown in FIG. 5 can be part of
the operating system of the computing system 500, one or more software applications
independent of the operating system, or operate at another software layer. The modules
shown in FIG. 5 can be implemented in software, hardware, firmware or combinations
thereof. A computer device or system referred to as being programmed to perform a
method can be programmed to perform the method via software, hardware, firmware or
combinations thereof.
[0035] FIG. 6 illustrates a system 600 comprising a display 602 with an integrated wireless
communication and media playback system in accordance with certain embodiments. The
system 600 also includes an SoC 620 coupled to the display. Display 602 and SoC 620
may have any suitable characteristics of other displays or SoCs described herein.
[0036] Display 602 comprises radio circuitry 132, wireless communication controller 134,
memory 136, media processing components 138, display driver 140, and interface 142.
Integration of these components on the display 602 may enable offloading of media
playback from the SoC 620 to the display 602.
[0037] The flow for media playback offload is as follows. The SoC 620 may start the application
that requests a media stream (e.g., SoC 620 may execute the application using one
or more processors). In an embodiment, SoC 620 may receive, via interface 622, an
identifier of a media stream (e.g., in a header portion of the media stream) received
wirelessly via antennas 130. Upon a determination that the media stream is a type
of media that may be decoded by the display (e.g., by checking a type of the media
stream against a list of media streams that may be decoded by the display), the SoC
620 may send a request to the display 602 to decode the media stream. The media stream
is then decoded by the display and displayed without being sent to the SoC 620. In
some embodiments, the SoC 620 may enter a low power state during the playback of the
media stream, e.g., if the SoC 620 does not need to perform other processing concurrent
with the playback. In other embodiments, wireless communication controller 134 may
proactively identify an identifier of the media stream, initiate decoding of the media
stream, and notify SoC 620 that the display is to decode the media stream.
[0038] The requested media stream is received via a wireless communication detected by the
activated antennas 130. Radio circuitry 132 and wireless communication controller
134 process the received communication, which is then passed to the media processing
components 138. In some embodiments, the SoC 620 may communicate with media processing
components 138 to configure the media processing components 138 to demultiplex the
audio and video from the media stream (e.g., by utilizing demux circuitry 606).
[0039] In one embodiment, the SoC 620 may decode the demultiplexed audio stream (e.g., by
using a media codec matching the data type of the incoming audio stream). In another
embodiment, the display 602 may decode the demultiplexed audio stream (e.g., by using
a media codec 608 of the media processing components 138). The decoded audio data
may then be routed based on the particular audio configuration (e.g., to a speaker
integrated with display 602, to a Bluetooth speaker, to an audio jack connected to
the housing, etc.). In some embodiments, the SoC 620 may configure the audio path
so that the media codec 608 can route the audio data appropriately.
[0040] In some embodiments, the display 602 may utilize a media codec 608 to decode audio
data and then periodically (e.g., every 1 second) send the audio data to the SoC 620.
The SoC 620 may then use the decoded audio data (e.g., pulse-code modulated audio
data) to drive an audio output. For example, the audio output could be located on
a base of the display or at another location in the system.
[0041] The display 602 may also decode the demultiplexed video stream (e.g., by using a
media codec 608 matching the data type of the incoming video stream). The demultiplexed
video stream is then provided to display driver 140 which drives the display elements
of the pixels of display 602 to effectuate media video playback. For example, the
display driver 140 may drive an appropriate amount of current to electrodes of the
display elements of the pixels to cause the media to be displayed by display 602.
[0042] As the media processing components 138 can perform video processing typically performed
by processing resources external to the display in existing devices, the media processing
components 138 allow for the offloading of video processing. Offloading video processing
from processors external to the display can reduce the power consumption of the external
processors, which can be of particular value if the external processor is in a mobile
device operating on battery power. Moving video processing components from external
processors to the display, where they are closer to the pixels, can also provide latency
improvements. In various embodiments, the SoC 620 may comprise circuitry (e.g., one
or more processors) that may be capable of performing the functions of video processing
components 138, but such circuitry may go unused and/or be put into a low power mode
(e.g., idle or sleep mode) while the display 602 executes the media playback functionality.
[0043] In various embodiments, the array of antennas 130 may also serve as the primary (and
in some embodiments the sole) antenna system for the device 600. Accordingly, data
received wirelessly via antennas 130 (e.g., non-media data, media data that can't
be offloaded, or header portions of media data to be offloaded) may be processed by
radio circuitry 132 and wireless communication controller 134 and passed through interface
142 to interface 622 of the SoC 620 for processing thereon. Accordingly, in some embodiments,
a network stack may be implemented at both SoC 620 and by display 602 (e.g., by wireless
communication controller 134). Similarly, data may be transmitted from the SoC 620
through the antennas 130 in reverse fashion.
[0044] The various components of display 602 will now be described in greater detail. A
wireless communication system may include a wireless communication radio architecture
in accordance with some demonstrative embodiments. The depicted radio architecture
includes radio circuitry 132 and wireless communication controller 134.
[0045] The antennas 130 may include directional or omnidirectional antennas, including,
for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip
antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some
multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas may be effectively
separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics
that may result.
[0046] Although certain shapes and spacing of antennas is depicted in various figures herein,
any suitable shapes and spacing between antennas may be implemented in various embodiments.
For example, in some embodiments (as shown in FIG. 1), the antennas may be repeated
in a particular direction (e.g., horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc.) with
a particular pitch (distance from an edge of an antenna to the corresponding edge
of an adjacent antenna). In particular embodiments, this pitch may be a multiple (e.g.,
1x, 2x, 4x, 7x, 20x, etc.) of the pitch of adjacent pixels (e.g., pixel width 244
or 296). In other embodiments, the pitch between antennas may vary across the array.
In some embodiments, the pitch may be common for some of the antennas and vary for
other antennas. Although the antenna array is shown as a two-dimensional grid in the
FIGs. herein, other embodiments may have an array having any suitable shape and/or
density of antennas.
[0047] In FIG. 6, the representation of two antennas 130 may be interpreted to include any
suitable number of antennas. Although FIG. 6 shows a single radio circuitry block
132 and a single wireless communication controller block 134; these blocks are to
be viewed as representing the possibility of one or more circuitry blocks, where potentially
one set of distinct circuitry blocks would work to provide the relevant functionalities
noted herein. As used herein, "processing circuitry" or "processor" may include one
or more distinctly identifiable processor blocks. As used herein, "processing" may
entail processing fully or processing partially; and "decoding" may entail decoding
fully or decoding partially.
[0048] Radio circuitry 132 may include a receive signal path comprising circuitry configured
to operate on Radio Frequency (RF) signals received from one or more activated antennas
130, to amplify the received signals and to further process the amplified versions
of the received signals. Radio circuitry 132 may also include a transmit signal path
which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for wireless transmission
by one or more of the antennas 130. The receive signal path of the radio circuitry
132 may include a low-noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF signals. The transmit
signal path of the radio circuitry 132 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify
signals, and one or more filters, such as band-pass filters (BPFs), low-pass filters
(LPFs) or other types of filters, to generate signals for subsequent transmission
(e.g., by one or more of the antennas 130).
[0049] In some dual-mode embodiments for Wi-Fi communication, the radio circuitry 132 may
be configured to operate in either the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum or the 5 GHz frequency
spectrum. In these embodiments (or in other embodiments in which the radio circuitry
132 may operate in one or more other frequency spectrums), the receive signal path
of the radio circuitry may include a receive signal path duplexer (or other circuitry)
to separate the signals from each spectrum as well as provide a separate low noise
amplifier (LNA) for each spectrum. In these embodiments, the transmit signal path
of the FEM circuitry may also include a power amplifier and a filter, such as a BPF,
a LPF or another type of filter for each frequency spectrum and a transmit signal
path duplexer (or other circuitry) to provide the signals of one of the different
spectrums onto a single transmit path for subsequent transmission by the one or more
of the antennas 130. In some embodiments, Bluetooth (BT) communications may utilize
the 2.4 GHZ signal paths and may utilize the same radio circuitry 132 as the one used
for WLAN communications.
[0050] Radio circuitry 132 as shown may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal
path. The receive signal path may include at least mixer circuitry, such as, for example,
downconversion mixer circuitry, amplifier circuitry and filter circuitry. The transmit
signal path of the radio circuitry 132 may include at least filter circuitry and mixer
circuitry, such as, for example, up-conversion mixer circuitry. Radio circuitry 132
may also include synthesizer circuitry for synthesizing a frequency for use by the
mixer circuitries of the respective receive and transmit signal paths. The mixer circuitries
of each of the receive and transmit signal paths may each, according to some embodiments,
be configured to provide direct conversion functionality. The latter type of circuitry
presents a much simpler architecture as compared with standard superheterodyne mixer
circuitries, and any flicker noise brought about by the same may be alleviated, for
example, through the use of OFDM modulation. Each mixer circuitry may include one
or more mixers, and filter circuitries may each include one or more filters, such
as one or more BPFs and/or LPFs according to application needs. For example, when
mixer circuitries are of the direct-conversion type, they may each include two or
more mixers.
[0051] Wireless communication controller 134 may include processing circuitry 604 that provides
Wi-Fi functionality or other wireless protocol functionality. In the instant description,
the wireless communication controller 134 may interface with memory 136, which may
include for example, a set of RAM arrays in a Fast Fourier Transform or Inverse Fast
Fourier Transform block (not shown) from and into which the processing circuitry 604
may read and write data, such as, for example, data relating to butterfly operations.
Memory 136 may further store control logic. Processing circuitry 604 may implement
control logic within the memory to process the signals received from the receive signal
path of the radio circuitry 132. Wireless communication controller 134 is additionally
configured to also generate corresponding baseband signals for the transmit signal
path of the radio circuitry 132 and may further include physical layer (PHY) and medium
access control layer (MAC) circuitry and may further interface with an application
processor (e.g., on SoC 620 or other processor) for generation and processing of the
baseband signals and for controlling operations of the radio circuitry 132.
[0052] In some other embodiments, the radio architecture may be configured to transmit and
receive signals transmitted using one or more modulation techniques such as OFDM or
OFDMA or other modulation techniques, such as spread spectrum modulation (e.g., direct
sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) and/or frequency hopping code division
multiple access (FH-CDMA)), time-division multiplexing (TDM) modulation, and/or frequency-division
multiplexing (FDM) modulation, and On-Off Keying (OOK), although the scope of the
embodiments is not limited in this respect.
[0053] In some demonstrative embodiments, the radio-architecture may be configured for cellular
communication (e.g., 3GPP such as LTE, LTE-Advanced, or 5G communications). In some
IEEE 802.11 embodiments, the radio architecture may be configured for communication
over various channel bandwidths including bandwidths having center frequencies of
900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and bandwidths of less than 5 MHz, or of about 1 MHz, 2 MHz,
2.5 MHz, 4 MHz, 5 MHz, 8 MHz, 10 MHz, 16 MHz, 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz (with contiguous
bandwidths) or 80+80 MHz (160 MHz) (with non-contiguous bandwidths), or any combination
of the above frequencies or bandwidths, or any frequencies or bandwidths between the
ones expressly noted above. In some demonstrative embodiments, a 320 MHz channel bandwidth
may be used. In a further embodiment, the radio architecture may be configured to
operate on center frequencies above 45 GHz. The scope of the embodiments is not limited
with respect to the above frequencies however. For example, the radio architecture
may be configured to operate on center frequencies at or near 6 GHz.
[0054] In some demonstrative embodiments, SoC 620 may include, for example, a Central Processing
Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), one or more processor cores, a single-core
processor, a dual-core processor, a multiple-core processor, a microprocessor, a host
processor, a controller, a plurality of processors or controllers, a chip, a microchip,
one or more circuits, circuitry, a logic unit, an Integrated Circuit (IC), an Application-Specific
IC (ASIC), or any other suitable multi-purpose or specific processor or controller.
SoC 620 may execute instructions, for example, of an Operating System (OS) and/or
of one or more suitable applications.
[0055] In some demonstrative embodiments, memory 136 may include, for example, a Random-Access
Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Dynamic RAM (DRAM), a Synchronous DRAM (SD-RAM),
a flash memory, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a cache memory, a buffer,
a short-term memory unit, a long-term memory unit, or other suitable memory units.
Memory 136 may be used by wireless communication controller 134 and/or video processing
components 138 (or other components) to store data during operation.
[0056] Media processing components 138 may include demultiplexer circuitry 606 and any suitable
number of media codecs 608. A media codec 608 may be operable to decompress a certain
type of media file, such as a video or an audio file. In various embodiments, the
SoC 620 may load firmware into memory 136 of the display that may be executed to implement
one or more media codecs 608 at any suitable time (e.g., prior to starting the application
requesting the media playback). In other embodiments, the media codec 608 may be implemented
in hardware on the display.
[0057] Display driver 140 may comprise circuitry to receive a decoded video file and to
drive electrical signals to the display elements to cause the display 602 to display
the video. In a particular embodiment, display driver may comprise a timing controller
(TCON) embedded driver (TED). In a particular embodiment, display driver 140 comprises
one or more row and column drivers. The display driver 140 may include one or more
digital to analog converters (DACs) to produce the appropriate currents to drive the
pixels.
[0058] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow 700 for offloading processing of a video stream to a display
(e.g., 602) in accordance with certain embodiments. At 710, an antenna configuration
is selected and implemented. The antenna configuration may specify which antennas
of an antenna array are to be activated and which (if any) are to be deactivated and
may be based off of sensor data measuring operational characteristics of the display
602 or system comprising the display.
[0059] At 720, an identifier of a multimedia stream is detected (e.g., by SoC 620 or display
602). For example, the identifier may be located in a header of the multimedia stream
or other data that is associated with the multimedia stream.
[0060] At 730, the display is instructed to perform processing of the multimedia stream.
In one embodiment, the SoC 620 may instruct the display to perform such processing.
In another embodiment, a component of the display 602 may determine that the display
602 is to process the multimedia stream rather than communicate the multimedia stream
to the SoC 620 for processing.
[0061] At 740, the multimedia stream is demultiplexed by the display 602 into an audio stream
and a video stream. At 750 the audio stream is decoded and at 770 the video stream
is decoded. In some embodiments, these operations may occur, at least in part, in
parallel. In one embodiment, the display 602 may perform each of these operations.
In another embodiment, the display 602 may perform the video stream decoding and send
the audio stream to another device (e.g., SoC 620) for decoding thereon. At 760, the
decoded audio stream is routed (e.g., to a speaker). At 780, the decoded video stream
is displayed by the display 602.
[0062] The flow described in FIG. 7 is merely representative of operations or communications
that may occur in particular embodiments. In other embodiments, additional operations
or communications may be performed in the flow. Various embodiments of the present
disclosure contemplate any suitable signaling mechanisms for accomplishing the functions
described herein. Some of the operations illustrated in FIG. 7 may be repeated, combined,
modified, or deleted where appropriate. Additionally, operations may be performed
in any suitable order without departing from the scope of particular embodiments.
[0063] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a computing device in which technologies described herein
may be implemented in accordance with certain embodiments. The technologies, techniques,
and embodiments described herein can be performed by any of a variety of computing
devices, including mobile devices (e.g., smartphones, handheld computers, laptops,
notebooks, tablets, media players, portable gaming consoles, cameras), non-mobile
devices (e.g., desktop computers, servers, stationary gaming consoles, set-top boxes,
televisions) and embedded devices (e.g., devices incorporated into a vehicle, home
or place of business). As used herein, the term "computing devices" includes computing
systems and includes devices comprising multiple discrete physical components.
[0064] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device in which technologies
described herein may be implemented. Generally, components shown in FIG. 8 can communicate
with other shown components, although not all connections are shown, for ease of illustration.
The device 800 is a multiprocessor system comprising a first processor 802 and a second
processor 804 and is illustrated as comprising point-to-point (P-P) interconnects.
For example, a point-to-point (P-P) interface 806 of the processor 802 is coupled
to a point-to-point interface 807 of the processor 804 via a point-to-point interconnection
805. It is to be understood that any or all of the point-to-point interconnects illustrated
in FIG. 8 can be alternatively implemented as a multi-drop bus, and that any or all
buses illustrated in FIG. 8 could be replaced by point-to-point interconnects.
[0065] As shown in FIG. 8, the processors 802 and 804 are multicore processors. Processor
802 comprises processor cores 808 and 809, and processor 804 comprises processor cores
810 and 811. Processor cores 808-811 can execute computer-executable instructions
in a manner similar to that discussed below in connection with FIG. 9, or in other
manners.
[0066] Processors 802 and 804 further comprise at least one shared cache memory 812 and
814, respectively. The shared caches 812 and 814 can store data (e.g., instructions)
utilized by one or more components of the processor, such as the processor cores 808-809
and 810-811. The shared caches 812 and 814 can be part of a memory hierarchy for the
device 800. For example, the shared cache 812 can locally store data that is also
stored in a memory 816 to allow for faster access to the data by components of the
processor 802. In some embodiments, the shared caches 812 and 814 can comprise multiple
cache layers, such as level 1 (L1), level 2 (L2), level 3 (L3), level 4 (L4), and/or
other caches or cache layers, such as a last level cache (LLC).
[0067] Although the device 800 is shown with two processors, the device 800 can comprise
any number of processors. Further, a processor can comprise any number of processor
cores. A processor can take various forms such as a central processing unit, a controller,
a graphics processor, an accelerator (such as a graphics accelerator or digital signal
processor (DSP)) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). A processor in a device
can be the same as or different from other processors in the device. In some embodiments,
the device 800 can comprise one or more processors that are heterogeneous or asymmetric
to a first processor, accelerator, FPGA, or any other processor. There can be a variety
of differences between the processing elements in a system in terms of a spectrum
of metrics of merit including architectural, microarchitectural, thermal, power consumption
characteristics and the like. These differences can effectively manifest themselves
as asymmetry and heterogeneity amongst the processors in a system. In some embodiments,
the processors 802 and 804 reside in the same die package.
[0068] Processors 802 and 804 further comprise memory controller logic (MC) 820 and 822.
As shown in FIG. 8, MCs 820 and 822 control memories 816 and 818 coupled to the processors
802 and 804, respectively. The memories 816 and 818 can comprise various types of
memories, such as volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memories (DRAM), static
random access memory (SRAM)) or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory). While MCs
820 and 822 are illustrated as being integrated into the processors 802 and 804, in
alternative embodiments, the MCs can be logic external to a processor and can comprise
one or more layers of a memory hierarchy.
[0069] Processors 802 and 804 are coupled to an Input/Output (I/O) subsystem 830 via P-P
interconnections 832 and 834. The point-to-point interconnection 832 connects a point-to-point
interface 836 of the processor 802 with a point-to-point interface 838 of the I/O
subsystem 830, and the point-to-point interconnection 834 connects a point-to-point
interface 840 of the processor 804 with a point-to-point interface 842 of the I/O
subsystem 830. Input/Output subsystem 830 further includes an interface 850 to couple
I/O subsystem 830 to a graphics engine 852, which can be a high-performance graphics
engine. The I/O subsystem 830 and the graphics engine 852 are coupled via a bus 854.
Alternately, the bus 854 could be a point-to-point interconnection.
[0070] Input/Output subsystem 830 is further coupled to a first bus 860 via an interface
862. The first bus 860 can be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI
Express bus, another third generation I/O interconnection bus or any other type of
bus.
[0071] Various I/O devices 864 can be coupled to the first bus 860. A bus bridge 870 can
couple the first bus 860 to a second bus 880. In some embodiments, the second bus
880 can be a low pin count (LPC) bus. Various devices can be coupled to the second
bus 880 including, for example, a keyboard/mouse 882, audio I/O devices 888 and a
storage device 890, such as a hard disk drive, solid-state drive or other storage
devices for storing computer-executable instructions (code) 892. The code 892 can
comprise computer-executable instructions for performing technologies described herein.
Additional components that can be coupled to the second bus 880 include communication
device(s) 884, which can provide for communication between the device 800 and one
or more wired or wireless networks 886 (e.g. Wi-Fi, cellular or satellite networks)
via one or more wired or wireless communication links (e.g., wire, cable, Ethernet
connection, radio-frequency (RF) channel, infrared channel, Wi-Fi channel) using one
or more communication standards (e.g., IEEE 802.11 standard and its supplements).
[0072] The device 800 can comprise removable memory such as flash memory cards (e.g., SD
(Secure Digital) cards), memory sticks, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards). The
memory in device 800 (including caches 812 and 814, memories 816 and 818 and storage
device 890) can store data and/or computer-executable instructions for executing an
operating system 894 and application programs 896. Example data includes web pages,
text messages, images, sound files, video data, biometric thresholds for particular
users or other data sets to be sent to and/or received from one or more network servers
or other devices by the device 800 via one or more wired or wireless networks, or
for use by the device 800. The device 800 can also have access to external memory
(not shown) such as external hard drives or cloud-based storage.
[0073] The operating system 894 can control the allocation and usage of the components illustrated
in FIG. 8 and support one or more application programs 896. The application programs
896 can include common mobile computing device applications (e.g., email applications,
calendars, contact managers, web browsers, messaging applications) as well as other
computing applications and utilities, such as a virtual keyboard.
[0074] The device 800 can support various input devices, such as a touchscreen, microphones,
camera, physical keyboard, virtual keyboard, proximity sensor and trackball, and one
or more output devices, such as a speaker and a display. Other possible input and
output devices include piezoelectric and other haptic I/O devices. Any of the input
or output devices can be internal to, external to or removably attachable with the
device 800. External input and output devices can communicate with the device 800
via wired or wireless connections.
[0075] In addition, the computing device 800 can provide one or more natural user interfaces
(NUIs). For example, the operating system 894 or applications 896 can comprise speech
recognition logic as part of a voice user interface that allows a user to operate
the device 800 via voice commands. Further, the device 800 can comprise input devices
and logic that allows a user to interact with the device 800 via a body, hand or face
gestures. For example, a user's hand gestures can be detected and interpreted to provide
input to a gaming application.
[0076] The device 800 can further comprise one or more communication components 884. The
components 884 can comprise wireless communication components coupled to one or more
antennas to support communication between the system 800 and external devices. The
wireless communication components can support various wireless communication protocols
and technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 4G Long
Term Evolution (LTE), Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Universal Mobile Telecommunication
System (UMTS) and Global System for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM). In addition, the
wireless modems can support communication with one or more cellular networks for data
and voice communications within a single cellular network, between cellular networks,
or between the mobile computing device and a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
[0077] The device 800 can further include at least one input/output port (which can be,
for example, a USB, IEEE 1394 (FireWire), Ethernet and/or RS-232 port) comprising
physical connectors; a power supply; a satellite navigation system receiver, such
as a GPS receiver; a gyroscope; an accelerometer; a proximity sensor; and a compass.
A GPS receiver can be coupled to a GPS antenna. The device 800 can further include
one or more additional antennas coupled to one or more additional receivers, transmitters
and/or transceivers to enable additional functions.
[0078] It is to be understood that FIG. 8 illustrates only one exemplary computing device
architecture. Computing devices based on alternative architectures can be used to
implement technologies described herein. For example, instead of the processors 802
and 804, and the graphics engine 852 being located on discrete integrated circuits,
a computing device can comprise an SoC (system-on-a-chip) integrated circuit incorporating
multiple processors, a graphics engine and additional components. Further, a computing
device can connect elements via bus or point-to-point configurations different from
that shown in FIG. 8. Moreover, the illustrated components in FIG. 8 are not required
or all-inclusive, as shown components can be removed and other components added in
alternative embodiments.
[0079] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary processor core that can execute instructions
as part of implementing technologies described herein in accordance with certain embodiments.
The processor core 900 can be a core for any type of processor, such as a microprocessor,
an embedded processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) or a network processor. The
processor core 900 can be a single-threaded core or a multithreaded core in that it
may include more than one hardware thread context (or "logical processor") per core.
[0080] FIG. 9 also illustrates a memory 910 coupled to the processor 900. The memory 910
can be any memory described herein or any other memory known to those of skill in
the art. The memory 910 can store computer-executable instruction 915 (code) executable
by the processor core 900.
[0081] The processor core comprises front-end logic 920 that receives instructions from
the memory 910. An instruction can be processed by one or more decoders 930. The decoder
930 can generate as its output a micro operation such as a fixed width micro operation
in a predefined format, or generate other instructions, microinstructions, or control
signals, which reflect the original code instruction. The front-end logic 920 further
comprises register renaming logic 935 and scheduling logic 940, which generally allocate
resources and queues operations corresponding to converting an instruction for execution.
[0082] The processor core 900 further comprises execution logic 950, which comprises one
or more execution units (EUs) 965-1 through 965-N. Some processor core embodiments
can include a number of execution units dedicated to specific functions or sets of
functions. Other embodiments can include only one execution unit or one execution
unit that can perform a particular function. The execution logic 950 performs the
operations specified by code instructions. After completion of execution of the operations
specified by the code instructions, back-end logic 970 retires instructions using
retirement logic 975. In some embodiments, the processor core 900 allows out of order
execution but requires in-order retirement of instructions. Retirement logic 970 can
take a variety of forms as known to those of skill in the art (e.g., reorder buffers
or the like).
[0083] The processor core 900 is transformed during execution of instructions, at least
in terms of the output generated by the decoder 930, hardware registers and tables
utilized by the register renaming logic 935, and any registers (not shown) modified
by the execution logic 950. Although not illustrated in FIG. 9, a processor can include
other elements on an integrated chip with the processor core 900. For example, a processor
may include additional elements such as memory control logic, one or more graphics
engines, I/O control logic and/or one or more caches.
[0084] As used in any embodiment herein, the term "module" refers to logic that may be implemented
in a hardware component or device (e.g., via circuitry), software or firmware running
on a processor, or a combination thereof, to perform one or more operations consistent
with the present disclosure. Software may be embodied as a software package, code,
instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer readable
storage mediums. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions or instruction sets
and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices. As used in
any embodiment herein, the term "circuitry" can comprise, for example, singly or in
any combination, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry such as computer processors
comprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, state machine circuitry,
and/or firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry. Modules
described herein may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that
forms a part of one or more devices. Thus, any of the modules can be implemented as
circuitry, such as continuous itemset generation circuitry, entropy-based discretization
circuitry, etc. A computer device referred to as being programmed to perform a method
can be programmed to perform the method via software, hardware, firmware or combinations
thereof.
[0085] Any of the disclosed methods can be implemented as computer-executable instructions
or a computer program product. Such instructions can cause a computer or one or more
processors capable of executing computer-executable instructions to perform any of
the disclosed methods. Generally, as used herein, the term "computer" refers to any
computing device or system described or mentioned herein, or any other computing device.
Thus, the term "computer-executable instruction" refers to instructions that can be
executed by any computing device described or mentioned herein, or any other computing
device.
[0086] The computer-executable instructions or computer program products, as well as any
data created and used during implementation of the disclosed technologies, can be
stored on one or more tangible or non-transitory computer-readable storage media,
such as optical media discs (e.g., DVDs, CDs), volatile memory components (e.g., DRAM,
SRAM), or non-volatile memory components (e.g., flash memory, solid state drives,
chalcogenide-based phase-change non-volatile memories). Computer-readable storage
media can be contained in computer-readable storage devices such as solid-state drives,
USB flash drives, and memory modules. Alternatively, the computer-executable instructions
may be performed by specific hardware components that contain hardwired logic for
performing all or a portion of disclosed methods, or by any combination of computer-readable
storage media and hardware components.
[0087] The computer-executable instructions can be part of, for example, a dedicated software
application or a software application that is accessed via a web browser or other
software application (such as a remote computing application). Such software can be
read and executed by, for example, a single computing device or in a network environment
using one or more networked computers. Further, it is to be understood that the disclosed
technology is not limited to any specific computer language or program. For instance,
the disclosed technologies can be implemented by software written in C++, Java, Perl,
JavaScript, Adobe Flash, or any other suitable programming language. Likewise, the
disclosed technologies are not limited to any particular computer or type of hardware.
[0088] Furthermore, any of the software-based embodiments (comprising, for example, computer-executable
instructions for causing a computer to perform any of the disclosed methods) can be
uploaded, downloaded or remotely accessed in a variety of manners. For example, such
instructions can be uploaded, downloaded or remotely accessed using the Internet,
the World Wide Web, an intranet, cable (including fiber optic cable), magnetic communications,
electromagnetic communications (including RF, microwave, and infrared communications),
and electronic communications.
[0089] As used in this application and in the claims, a list of items joined by the term
"and/or" can mean any combination of the listed items. For example, the phrase "A,
B and/or C" can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B and C. As used in
this application and in the claims, a list of items joined by the term "at least one
of' can mean any combination of the listed terms. For example, the phrase "at least
one of A, B or C" can mean A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; or A, B, and C.
[0090] The disclosed methods, apparatuses and systems are not to be construed as limiting
in any way. Instead, the present disclosure is directed toward all novel and nonobvious
features and aspects of the various disclosed embodiments, alone and in various combinations
and subcombinations with one another. The disclosed methods, apparatuses, and systems
are not limited to any specific aspect or feature or combination thereof, nor do the
disclosed embodiments require that any one or more specific advantages be present
or problems be solved.
[0091] Theories of operation, scientific principles or other theoretical descriptions presented
herein in reference to the apparatuses or methods of this disclosure have been provided
for the purposes of better understanding and are not intended to be limiting in scope.
The apparatuses and methods in the appended claims are not limited to those apparatuses
and methods that function in the manner described by such theories of operation.
[0092] Although the operations of some of the disclosed methods are described in a particular,
sequential order for convenient presentation, it is to be understood that this manner
of description encompasses rearrangement, unless a particular ordering is required
by specific language set forth herein. For example, operations described sequentially
may in some cases be rearranged or performed concurrently. Moreover, for the sake
of simplicity, the attached figures may not show the various ways in which the disclosed
methods can be used in conjunction with other methods.
[0093] The following examples pertain to additional embodiments of technologies disclosed
herein.
Example 1 may comprise a display comprising a display substrate comprising a front
side; a plurality of pixels located on the front side of the display substrate, the
plurality of pixels defining a display area; and an antenna array comprising a plurality
of antennas located on the front side of the display substrate and within the display
area.
Example 2 may comprise the subject matter of example 1, wherein at least a portion
of an antenna of the plurality of antennas is located between a plurality of display
elements of a first pixel and a plurality of display elements of a second pixel, wherein
the first pixel is directly adjacent to the second pixel.
Example 3 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-2, wherein adjacent
antennas of a first set of three or more antennas of the plurality of antennas are
separated by a common pitch in a particular direction.
Example 4 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-3,wherein the common
pitch is a multiple of a pitch length between directly adjacent pixels of the plurality
of pixels.
Example 5 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-4, the display further
comprising circuitry to selectively activate a subset of the plurality of antennas
based on a selected antenna configuration.
Example 6 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-5, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on a plurality of detected touches of the display.
Example 7 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-6, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on an orientation of the display.
Example 8 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-7, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on one or more of a battery charge level and a thermal
condition.
Example 9 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-8, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on data sensed by one or more specific absorption rate
sensors of the display.
Example 10 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-9, wherein the display
further comprises one or more media processing components on the display substrate
and within the display area, the one or more media processing components to decode
a video stream received wirelessly via the antenna array and to provide the decoded
video stream to a display driver for display within the display area.
Example 11 may comprise the subject matter of example 10, wherein the one or more
media processing components within the display area are to demultiplex an audio stream
and the video stream from a multimedia stream comprising the video stream prior to
decoding the video stream.
Example 12 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 1-11, wherein the display
is to comprise an interface to communicate data received wirelessly via the antenna
to a processor coupled to the display, and wherein the processor is to request offloading
to the display of playback of video data received wirelessly via the antenna such
that the processor does not process the video data received wirelessly via the antenna.
Example 13 may comprise a method comprising receiving a wireless communication via
an antenna array comprising a plurality of antennas located on a front side of a display
substrate and within a display area, wherein the display area is defined by a plurality
of pixels located on the front side of the display substrate.
Example 14 may comprise the subject matter of example 13, wherein at least a portion
of an antenna of the plurality of antennas is located between a plurality of display
elements of a first pixel and a plurality of display elements of a second pixel, wherein
the first pixel is directly adjacent to the second pixel.
Example 15 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-14, wherein adjacent
antennas of a first set of three or more antennas of the plurality of antennas are
separated by a common pitch in a particular direction.
Example 16 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-15, wherein the common
pitch is a multiple of a pitch length between directly adjacent pixels of the plurality
of pixels.
Example 17 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-16, further comprising
activating a subset of the plurality of antennas and deactivating the remainder of
the plurality of antennas based on a selected antenna configuration.
Example 18 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-17, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on a plurality of detected touches of the display.
Example 19 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-18, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on an orientation of the display.
Example 20 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-19, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on one or more of a battery charge level and a thermal
condition.
Example 21 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-20, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on data sensed by one or more specific absorption rate
sensors of the display.
Example 22 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-21, further comprising
decoding, by one or more media processing components located on the display substrate
and within the display area, a video stream received wirelessly via the antenna array;
and providing the decoded video stream to a display driver for display within the
display area.
Example 23 may comprise the subject matter of example 22, further comprising demultiplexing,
by the one or more media processing components located on the display substrate, an
audio stream and the video stream from a multimedia stream comprising the video stream
prior to decoding the video stream.
Example 24 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 13-23, wherein the display
is to comprise an interface to communicate data received wirelessly via the antenna
to a processor coupled to the display, and wherein the processor is to request offloading
to the display of playback of video data received wirelessly via the antenna such
that the processor does not process the video data received wirelessly via the antenna.
Example 25 may comprise a system comprising a display comprising a display substrate
comprising a front side; a plurality of pixels located on the front side of the display
substrate, the plurality of pixels defining a display area; and an antenna array comprising
a plurality of antennas located on the front side of the display substrate and within
the display area; and a processor to communicatively couple to the display.
Example 26 may comprise the subject matter of example 25, wherein at least a portion
of an antenna of the plurality of antennas is located between a plurality of display
elements of a first pixel and a plurality of display elements of a second pixel, wherein
the first pixel is directly adjacent to the second pixel.
Example 27 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-26, wherein adjacent
antennas of a first set of three or more antennas of the plurality of antennas are
separated by a common pitch in a particular direction.
Example 28 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-27, wherein the common
pitch is a multiple of a pitch length between directly adjacent pixels of the plurality
of pixels.
Example 29 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-28, the display further
comprising circuitry to selectively activate a subset of the plurality of antennas
based on a selected antenna configuration.
Example 30 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-29, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on a plurality of detected touches of the display.
Example 31 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-30, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on an orientation of the display.
Example 32 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-31, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on one or more of a battery charge level and a thermal
condition.
Example 33 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-32, wherein the selected
antenna configuration is based on data sensed by one or more specific absorption rate
sensors of the display.
Example 34 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-33, wherein the display
further comprises one or more media processing components on the display substrate
and within the display area, the one or more media processing components to decode
a video stream received wirelessly via the antenna array and to provide the decoded
video stream to a display driver for display within the display area.
Example 35 may comprise the subject matter of example 34, wherein the one or more
media processing components within the display area are to demultiplex an audio stream
and the video stream from a multimedia stream comprising the video stream prior to
decoding the video stream.
Example 36 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-35, wherein the display
is to comprise an interface to communicate data received wirelessly via the antenna
to a processor coupled to the display, and wherein the processor is to request offloading
to the display of playback of video data received wirelessly via the antenna such
that the processor does not process the video data received wirelessly via the antenna.
Example 37 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-36, detect an identifier
of a multimedia stream to be communicated over the antenna array; and responsive to
the detection of the identifier, instruct the display to decode the multimedia stream
at the display.
Example 38 may comprise the subject matter of any of examples 25-37, wherein the processor
is to determine an antenna configuration based on sensor data from one or more sensors,
the antenna configuration specifying activation of a subset of the plurality of antennas
and deactivation of the remainder of the plurality of antennas; and communicate the
antenna configuration to the display.